Resilience.

| re'zil-yǝns |

Definition: An ability to recover from or adjust easily to change or misfortune.

Today marks 17 years since the tragic moment that heavily impacted most of our lives. The Twin Towers had fallen and the crash was heard across the world. I know I was young, 5 years old to be exact, but I still remember the reactions of the people around me as clear as day.

In a city that is so near and dear to me, my heart is always heavy on this day. My beautiful New York (I say "my" because prayerfully I will be able to call this place home for grad school), was really given no choice but to step up and be resilient. A lesson that I make an effort to apply to my daily life. My love runs deep in those streets because I can feel the energy of those who have bounced back from the worst possible situations and in time had a better future come from it. That is what I am aiming to do - and the word of God gives me a crystal clear blueprint.

In the last few months I've also learned the importance of not jumping into things prematurely. I am a lover by nature, but I also have a really thick skull. So practical things take longer to resonate when the desires of my heart are ready to kick things in full swing. I launched this blog earlier this summer, but my heart wasn't right. I was doing it for all the wrong reasons. I wanted to glorify all the problems and weak areas in my life more so than the way the Lord was leading me into a new life of redemption. Now it did pop off more than I expected, (we hit 3 different countries and about 25 different states in less than 6 weeks), but I wanted all the fame and the recognition from it. I put in all the hard work, right!? Wrong. The Lord was working behind the scenes like he always is and He deserves all the credit.

"For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever!" - Romans 11:36.

So now and forever, I just want Jesus to get all the glory from everything I do. With His guidance, everyday I am understanding why you must exercise EXTREME faith and EXTREME patience. Each will yield their respective rewards when the time comes - and they will always be greater than anything you could ever dream of.

I am so thankful to be sitting here and even have the ability to reexamine my life in this manner. 17 years ago today many did not get that opportunity and in an instant, the last thing they were doing became the last thing they did. It surely does put things into perspective. I am relaunching this blog today, 9/11/2018, and accomplishing a goal of mine because God has given me - and you - the gift of another day. So I can now say, that if this were the last thing I was able to do in my life, I'm proud of it.

My last trip to the city was my favorite, because I spent it with my Queen - my mommy. It was her very first time in New York City and we took it by storm. Cramming the Big Apple into about 3 or 4 days can imaginably be difficult, but it was more than worth it experiencing it with her. She's my heart and I can't wait for many more trips together. I'll share more pictures with you all soon. But I want to give a quick shout out to my momma, because without her graceful example of a Godly woman I wouldn't be who I was today. So thank you mommy for loving and supporting me all these years, I know I haven't made it easy on you but I love you with all my heart.

Okay okay, I won't go on with the heaviness, but I just had a point to get across. If you know me then you know I am FAR from a softy but I am progressively grasping the idea of being more in tune with my emotions. This blog has always been a dream of mine for years that I thought was too tough to obtain or that it wouldn't be "successful". When in reality all it took was submission unto the Lord, a few hours in front of a computer and an occasional glass of wine. Easy enough, right? And as far as being a success, well, I have the peace of God knowing I did my part and that is all I could ever ask for. I'm no longer claiming the spirit of fear in my life and if there's something you are wanting to accomplish I urge you to do it. Resilience is a choice and we must choose to recover from misfortune. It's officially time to stop wasting time. I will keep this up the best I can in my free time even though as a full time student I don't have that much of it. Though if I can be of assistance to lead hundreds of people to Jesus with these posts, or even one person, then it will make it more than worth my while. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of our creator, and that should be celebrated daily. Keep following this blog and you will see a young woman who is learning to love herself through all of her many flaws - all the while encouraging you to do the same. Thanks for rocking with me fam, we're here for good this time. Welcome back.

With all my heart,

Kristin Nicole Robertson

#NewYorkCity #Resilience #Resilient #Broken #Leaf #BrokenLeaf